As known, handgun holsters, in particular those in use by police officers and surveillance staff for defending people and goods, must be designed so as to hold the gun firmly, not only during the normal movements of the user but also when more intense physical efforts, or fights or similar circumstances occur, ensuring nonetheless an easy and quick gun extraction by the user, when needed.
Various safety devices are provided to such purpose, locking the gun inside the holster when not in use, allowing for a somehow quick release when necessary. In fact, these safety devices, if on the one hand must effectively fasten the gun to the holster when the same gun is at rest, on the other hand they must let the gun be easily and promptly extracted as soon as the necessity arises.
Among the different safety devices proposed until presently, there are devices exploiting the spent casing ejection port of the handgun as an engagement seating for a locking member locking the gun within the holster.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,769,581 discloses for instance a device comprising a fixed projecting tooth arranged within the holster and adapted to engage with the ejection port of the gun to keep it locked in position. The disengagement/unlocking is in this case carried out with a suitably driven displacements of the gun; such displacements are made possible only pursuant to the release of supplementary locking means.
The release of the gun is in this case unreliable, being it related with a particular displacement of the gun that the user must accomplish without any mechanical guidance. This can be troublesome, especially in danger situations when a quick extraction of the gun from the holster is vital.
PCT publication WO2007/092008 discloses a device similar to that just described, in which the safety lock of the gun in the holster occurs through the ejection port, with a supplementary device or tension setter is mounted inside the holster in order to assist a correct positioning of the gun with respect to the locking device, thus somehow guiding the user towards the correct movements required to lock and unlock the gun. The provision of a supplementary device, furthermore with a limited adaptation capability to different handgun models, makes this solution not fully satisfactory in terms of simple construction and easy use.
The ejection port is also exploited in the holsters disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,140,523 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,886,725. In these holsters the port is engaged by a locking movable member, in particular the end of a lever which to be actuated by the user.
More specifically, this type of known device comprises a lever at the ends of which there are arranged, respectively, a docking plate that engages with the ejection port of the gun, and a release plate, placed adjacent with the trigger guard to be actuated by the user with a push carried out by flexing a finger, e.g. the forefinger. This device further comprises a tube within the holster, in which the user needs insert the finger in order to contact and drive the release plate. The tube has therefore the function of sheltering and protecting the release plate, so as not to permit an actuation by an assailant, or an accidental and/or unintentional actuation by the same user. Also this release system is in any case uncomfortable and inconvenient: the actuation of the release plate must in fact be carried out in the area of the trigger guard, thus very deeply inside the holster, even inserting the finger in a long tube (also with possible problems for people having bulky fingers). This device is also unsuitable for guns provided with tactical lights, laser sights or the like, encumbering the area of the trigger guard.
In US2007/181619 a holster having the features in the preamble of annexed claim 1 is disclosed. 1. The holster includes internal latch means rocking about a transverse axis joining the main side walls of the holster, and engaging with the ejection port of the gun. The release of the latch means is driven by a release lever with an end to be operated by the thumb of the user and arranged at a certain depth.
Even this system is however lacking of ergonomic and convenience characteristics, considering also the reduced space between the holster and the body of the user, being it the space in which the thumb has to be inserted for seeking contact with the release lever actuation end (this being a relatively small target).
It remains therefore deeply felt the need for an improvement safety device for holsters that, being adapted to any different type of handguns, is particularly reliable and convenient for the user.